Florida’s 2024 class got a massive boost on Saturday as center John Bol announced his commitment to the Gators. Bol had been a priority target for the Gators ever since Todd Golden and his staff got to Gainesville when they made the 2024 class a priority, believing they could bring top high school talent to Florida.
That’s just what Bol is–currently ranked 23rd in the class of 2024. He’s no newcomer to the top-25 of the 2024 rankings–Bol has been considered an elite prospect ever since recruiting services started evaluating the 2024 class.
Bol currently resides in Wichita, Kansas where he attends basketball powerhouse Sunrise Christian. On the circuit, Bol plays for Mokan Elite–another elite program. Bol’s affiliation with a top high school and top circuit program speaks to his pedigree as a prospect and the high level of competition he sees at both levels should ensure he’s as ready as possible when he arrives at Florida in 2024.
You’ll see some different heights listed for Bol but they’re always between 7’0” and 7’2”–meaning he has as much height as you’d ever want from a center. Making things even better is his reported 7’8” wingspan, a number as important as height when it comes to a player like Bol.
With all that height and length, Bol is predictably an anchor on the defensive end who looks like he could already step onto a college floor and swat away shots with the best of them. Bol’s defensive ability is what made him such a priority for Todd Golden who is a defense-first coach who wants to build his defensive structure around a defensive anchor who can lock down the paint. The staff sold Bol on a key defensive role where he could demonstrate an understanding of NBA-type defensive concepts, as well as a projected role as a freshman.
Offensively Bol still has some development to do but that’s no surprise–very few centers enter college basketball with a polished offensive game, and Bol still has another year before competing in the SEC. His long strides make him an effective rim runner in transition and he has shown the ability to put the ball on the floor for a bounce or two in a straight line attacking less athletic defenders which is good enough for a player as athletic and long as he is.
Bol ultimately chose Florida over Wake Forest, Michigan, UConn, Missouri, USC, Texas, and the Overtime Elite program. Florida was considered to be one of the favorites for much of the recruitment alongside Missouri and Overtime Elite. Assistant coach Carlin Hartman is said to have been the lead recruiter for the Gators.
For the Gators, landing Bol is a massively important piece for their roster build in 2024 and beyond. Currently in college basketball there is a severe shortage of quality big men, and they hardly hit the transfer portal and when they do they get scooped up quickly. To win at the highest level of the sport you need an elite center, and right now those players are largely coming from traditional high school recruiting as opposed to the transfer portal. With an anchor in the paint committed in Bol the Gators will now look to get some firepower on the wings to add some offensive upside.
Bol joins guard Isaiah Brown as the committed players in Florida’s 2024 class.